Jose Antonio Ibarra, the illegal alien accused of murdering 22-year-old Laken Riley earlier this year, is reportedly a confirmed member of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua that has flourished in the United States under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Ibarra, who is currently on trial for murdering Riley in February of this year in Athens, Georgia, while she was on a jog, crossed the United States-Mexico border near El Paso, Texas, on Sept. 8, 2022.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials cited a lack of “detention capacity” as the reason that Ibarra was awarded parole via Biden-Harris’s parole pipeline and released into the United States interior. At the time of Ibarra’s apprehension near the border, though, more than 8,000 detention beds were available for use by DHS.
Now, Ali Bradley of NewsNation exclusively reports that several DHS sources have confirmed that Ibarra is a member of Tren de Aragua.
Prosecutors had speculated for months that Ibarra may have been affiliated with the gang, which has used lax immigration enforcement to get potentially thousands of members across the southern border.
On February 22, Riley went for a morning jog in Athens around the University of Georgia (UGA) campus. Riley was an avid runner and was in nursing school.
When Riley did not return after her jog, her roommate called the police. Riley’s body was discovered bludgeoned in a wooded area on the UGA campus. The following day, Ibarra was arrested and charged with Riley’s murder.
Ibarra’s roommate at the time testified at trial on Monday that the illegal alien went to sleep soon after returning to their apartment after allegedly brutally murdering Riley.
The roommate also testified that in September 2023, she and Ibarra requested a “humanitarian flight” to Athens at the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan, New York City — a historic property that Mayor Eric Adams (D) converted into a migrant camp.
In November 2023, just a couple of months before Riley’s murder, Ibarra applied for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). On December 9, 2023, Ibarra’s work permit application was approved.
In July 2023, before securing a work permit, Ibarra reported to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in New York City for a biometric appointment where he was fingerprinted. The results of those fingerprints show Ibarra had a prior criminal history.
On September 14, 2023, Ibarra was arrested for acting in a manner that could injure a child. Despite the charge, Ibarra was not prosecuted, and the arrest was expunged.
Ibarra is facing life in prison without the possibility of parole.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at
